The 5 best PC (only) games of 2010

Tosh has an onscreen presence most movie characters can only aspire to.
Eric Franklin/CNET

With the advent of services such as Valve's Steam and Microsoft's Games for Windows Live, not to mention Blizzard's continued support, PC gaming--considered dead a few years back--isn't showing any signs of slowing down.

The platform has continued to successfully offer exclusive experiences you won't find on a console, while at the same time playing host to some of console gaming's biggest blockbusters, like the Call of Duty and Mass Effect series. Editors' note: Eric Franklin is aware that the Call of Duty series was begotten on the PC. He was there, he played it with headphones and has the occasional tinnitus to prove it.

While Jeff Bakalar covered the overall top 10 2010 games list earlier, I couldn't sit idly by while PC gaming got the short end of the stick. Instead, through tenacity, charm, and a bit of pleading I was able to secure a more than serviceable medium-size list.

What follows is a list of the top five PC games released in 2010 that didn't also appear on a console. It was important for me to show PC gaming's unique quality, and what better way than with exclusive (for now at least) games? We'll see if we're able to compose such a list next year, but with the large amount of hotly anticipated MMOs, not to mention anything from Blizzard, I'll think we'll be in good shape.

Before delving into the top 5, check out the games that missed it by that much.